Smart Cities

The objective of the Working Group is to act as a platform to offer early information on priorities and funding opportunities linked to Smart Cities, with a focus on the EU Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. The WG aims to facilitate sharing of experiences and support matchmaking to develop new partnerships and projects. The WG targets the smart city topic from an integrated and holistic approach, addressing issues such as citizen engagement, data-driven policy and smart governance models, while exploring synergies between the areas linked to smart cities as addressed by the ERRIN WGs on Energy and Climate Change, Transport and ICT.

ERRIN Contact

Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030

The Smart Cities WG has taken an active role in shaping the Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 - one of the five mission areas under Horizon Europe - and is closely following the implementation of the mission. Visit our dedicated Cities Mission page to learn more about our work on this.

Last Working Group Meetings

Previous Related ERRIN Working Group Meetings

ICT

Artificial Intelligence related strategies at local and regional level – ICT WG Meeting

Rodolphe Doité

In December 2023, the Council and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the AI Act, setting out rules for the development and usage of AI in Europe. With AI's growing importance

Policy & Smart Specialisation WGs meeting: Widening in FP10 and impact on cohesion policy post-2027

Policy & Smart Specialisation WGs meeting: Widening in FP10 and impact on cohesion policy post-2027

Ewa Chomicz

The topic of widening gathers high attention in the discussions around the next European Framework Programme for R&I, raising questions with the potential to influence not only the Widening sub-

Policy WG meeting: Role of EU Missions in FP10

Policy WG meeting: Role of EU Missions in FP10

Ewa Chomicz

ERRIN has been closely involved in the design and implementation of the EU Missions since their inception. Missions remain one of the network's priorities and were one of the four main areas of focus

WG Related Events

WG Related Events

Low Carbon Cluster: Future projects under the Cities Mission

The Working Groups of the Low Carbon Cluster – Smart Cities, Transport and Energy & Climate Change, are organising a session around project opportunities within the Cities Mission in 2024. The session will take place on 23 January between 15:00-17:10 CET at the House of Dutch Provinces.

Learn. Exchange. Connect - Co-creating responsible energy transitions - RIPEET Final conference

As the RIPEET project is coming to an end, our consortium is happy to invite invite local and regional authorities’ representatives, co-creation experts and researchers to join our sessions on 18 January 2024.

Join the RIPEET Lab: sharing key learnings on stakeholders’ engagement methods

The RIPEET Lab is the closing chapter of the project peer-learning programme where RIPEET's mirrors and pilot territories will exchange good practices. The event will involve RIPEET partners and external stakeholders, focusing on key learnings to replicate stakeholder engagement methods in other contexts and expressing interest in future collaboration opportunities on upcoming calls.

Collaborative Citizen Engagement in the development of Positive Energy Districts

The RESPONSE project is organising its 5th Webinar: Collaborative Citizen Engagement in the Development of Positive Energy Districts (PED) - focused on introducing the topic “Collaborative Citizen Engagement in the Development of Positive Energy Districts” and presentation of RESPONSE activities regarding citizen engagement implemented in Turku and Dijon. The webinar will be held on 16 January 2024 from 12:00 to 13:00 CEST.

I-HEROS Webinar : Unlocking energy renovation potential: Launching local One-Stop-Shops for efficient residential renovation policies

As part of the I-HEROS project, this webinar will reflect on the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, and present the future challenges for urban renovation policies. More specifically, we will reflect on how these services can be expanded and replicated and what key conditions are needed to make them sustainable in the long term.

NATI00NS thematic events: Solutions for urban and post-industrial soil de-sealing

The NATI00NS project is organising a series of online thematic events on healthy soil and sustainable management. The first thematic event, taking place on 14 December at 10:00 CET, will focus on the various aspects of soil sealing, particularly in urban and post-industrial soils, exploring innovative practices aimed at its reversal.

WG Documents

WG Documents

Proposal for the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership

Attached is the approved concept for the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership.

ERRIN Input to the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership Consultation

ERRIN provided input to the public consultation to shape the European Partnership on Driving Urban Transitions. 

ERRIN Contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities

Please find attached ERRIN's contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.

ERRIN Draft Contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral Cities

Please find attached ERRIN's first draft contribution to the Mission on Climate Neutral Cities.

Policy Recommendations - Regional R&I Ecosystems: Contributing to a competitive Europe

Going towards FP9, several reports - including the Lamy report - underlined the necessity to address the challenge of turning research knowledge into innovation and growth.

WG Related Content

WG Related Content

Governance structures to implement the EU Missions: check the new Mission Data Platform

A new Mission Data Platform has recently been launched by TRAMI, the EU-funded project focusing on transnational cooperation on the Mission-approach and effective implementation of the EU Missions. This tool supports and links with ERRIN's work on multi-level governance in the Cities Mission within the NetZeroCities project.

Clean Hydrogen Partnership 2024 calls are now open!

The Clean Hydrogen Partnership has officially launched its calls for proposals for 2024, providing a funding opportunity of €113.5 million to advance projects supporting the development of hydrogen technologies across the entire hydrogen value chain. ERRIN members can join a workshop hosted by Hydrogen Europe Regional Pillar on Wednesday, 7 February, focusing specifically on Hydrogen Valley calls.

26 additional cities selected to join the NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme

The NetZeroCities project, in which ERRIN is a partner, has selected 26 additional cities from 16 countries to take part in its Pilot Cities Programme. ERRIN is delighted to note that 12 cities from ERRIN member regions have been chosen, including Riga and Lyon, both supported by ERRIN’s NetZeroCities Climate Neutral Cities Advisors. 

ERRIN welcomes new network Chairs

The ERRIN Management Board has appointed three co-chairs to the network. The three postholders will work together as a troika to guide the network in a collaborative manner in the period of 2024-2025.

Exploring Synergies between European Partnerships and EU Missions – Mutual Learning Event

ERRIN and the TRAMI project are organising a Mutual Learning Event aiming to explore synergies between European Partnerships and EU Missions. The event will take place on Wednesday 7 February from 9:00 to 12:00 (CET) at the NCBR Brussels Office, Rue Belliard 40, Brussels.

Third NetZeroCities call for Pilot Cities now open!

NetZeroCities has opened its third and final call for cities to join the two-year Pilot Cities Programme. The call is open only to Mission Cities who are not yet part of the Pilot Cities Programme. The deadline for applications is 18 March 2024.

Latest Updates

  • By Rodolphe Doité

Info day - Developing CitiVerse

On 23 May 2023, an Info Day is organised to present the next Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) funding opportunity for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities, for the topic Developing CitiVerse.

  • By Lucy Hammond

Covenant of Companies for Climate and Energy launch pledging scheme  

The Covenant of Companies has launched a brand-new pledging scheme where companies, in making a pledge with our programme, commit to taking action to decarbonise. In return, they offer companies the knowledge and support they need to carry out these measures including a suite of advisory services. The second call for technical assistance is now open and the deadline for submission is 31 August 2023 18:00 CEST

  • By Ewa Chomicz

Regional Innovation Valleys calls for proposals launched!

The first Regional Innovation Valleys calls for proposals under the European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) part of Horizon Europe and under the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument of the ERDF were launched by the European Commission on 17 May with an overall budget of EUR 122 million. The closing date for applying is 17 October 2023.

  • By Lucy Hammond

Pathways2Resilience launches Expression of Interest

The Pathways2Resilience programme has launched its Expression of Interest questionnaire. The programme will allocate €21 million across 100 regions and communities through two call cycles, while also providing them with a range of support services and capacity-building activities to support the formulation of local resilience pathways and innovation agendas. The deadline for local and regional public authorities to express their interest in the programme is 15 September.

  • By Ewa Chomicz

Call to join the Commission Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe

On 15 May, the European Commission's DG RTD launched a call for applications for the Commission Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe. The group shall gather 15 highly experienced members with the aim to provide the Commission with strategic recommendations to feed into the design of the next Framework Programme 2028-2034.

  • By Lucy Hammond

The Intelligent Cities Challenge: Deadline extended until 31 May

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is one of the European Commission's largest city support initiatives supporting European cities in their green and digital transitions. ICC delivers cutting-edge knowledge and support services to cities and their local economies to address two major challenges: making the transition to a net-zero economic model while enabling social inclusion and sustainable development for every EU citizen. The application deadline for cities has been extended to 31 May 2023.